Diversey’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs drive us to work with diverse partners around to the world to improve lives in the communities where we operate. Employee volunteerism, disaster relief, and product donations are a reflection of Diversey’s efforts to be a good corporate citizen. However, what differentiates Diversey is our extension of CSR to creating shared value (CSV). By partnering with our customers and NGOs, we tackle shared social and environmental challenges. Mutually beneficial programs like Soap For Hope and Linens For Life touch all three parts of sustainability with social, environmental and financial benefits.
Garima | Diversey School of Hygiene, India
A housekeeping and infection prevention training outreach program that educates the underprivileged communities in India. The shared value initiative helps unemployable men and women with “Hygiene Technician” certification that supports them as they join the janitorial workforce.
SOAP FOR HOPE™
Over 7 million children die each year from diseases that can be prevented with simple hand washing. And every year, a typical 400-room hotel generates 3.5 tons of solid soap waste. That waste either goes to landfill, or is shipped to a global recycling facility, costing hotels hefty fees.
That’s why we started Soap for Hope, which teaches at-risk communities to salvage the hotels' soap slivers and turn them into new soap bars.
LINENS FOR LIFE™
Linens for Life has a simple but powerful objective: to empower people displaced by disasters with support from Diversey and its hotel customers. With this program, several families in a community are able to earn a small livelihood by converting linens discarded by hotels into new and useful items that they can sell. At the same time, hotels can recycle their unwanted linens in a way that makes a real difference, helping people who have lost everything in a natural disaster and who reside in refugee camps.
Communities receive basic training on how to sew and use sewing machines donated by Diversey. A local charity is trained to operate the program. Once trained, they can work at a refugee camp’s communal building to give a new lease on life to the linen donated by the hotels. Items created include pillow cases, tote bags and simple clothing, which are then sold to earn a small income for the people who made them.